Heavy Metal Thunder Page 32

  Flexadrone (bulk 1) (Whenever you temporarily lose Strength points due to injury, this drug will heal 1 Strength point, and there is enough for 1 dose.)

  You plop down on the examination table and the doctor tends to your wounds. He gasps and sighs as he rubs a cooling gel into your muscles. You heal 2 Blood.

  If you have a Mystery Syringe, turn to section 257.

  If you do not have this item, turn to section 80.

  434

  Vision shaking from the motion of the powerful deconstructor, you manage to destroy the panel on its flank, then you rip open some inner protective cover. You see something like a row of circuit boards. Barely managing to keep your grip, you reach inside and pull the array loose from its moorings. You look up just in time to see the north hallway wall looming before you; you do not have time to react, much less destroy the circuit board, before you crash into the wall. You roll backwards, sliding along the flank of the beast. The world spins.

  Your shoulder crashes into a wall and you barely manage to hold on to some part of the ruined wall as the deconstructor slides past you. The dark hallway looms behind you and air rushes past you violently as the void strains to suck you in. Just then the deconstructor grinds its own loose circuit boards against the same northern wall that knocked you back, smashing them to pieces, and the machine grinds to a halt. You grasp the grappling mechanism and turn it on; the line groans and pulls you away from the darkness of the outer hall. You flail about in midair.

  You hear a series of explosions in the distance, for the guard must have thrown or dropped his grenades into the other deconstructor. There is a terrible crash as it slams into the other, which buckles outward toward you. The ruined hulks slide into the hole from which they emerged, spouting steam and sparks and, as the hole is nearly sealed, the raging wind becomes still and you drop to the ground. You rise slowly, disconnect your line from the wall, and stumble over the dead machines. You see the guard rising also, unarmed, shaking his head wearily. The two of you stumble to another hallway and collapse, exhausted.

  You lose 3 Blood from the battle, but you gain 3 XP for successfully destroying the deconstructors. If you used any bullets in your attack, be sure to erase them from your inventory. Furthermore, while you struggled against the void, you lost one of your items (your pick, but the item must be of at least 1 bulk, so losing 1 bullet won’t suffice).

  Turn to section 126.

  435

  With a manic battlecry you fly at the thing. Its tentacles arc past you, too slow to avoid you, and your knife slams into its faceplate, cutting into its metallic skull. The thing shudders and shrieks as you push it into a wall, then jerk your knife free so that you can stab it again. A thick line of drool falls from your mouth and sizzles on its exposed innards as it dies under you.

  You have survived your first fight. Turn to section 298.

  436

  “The void always repays its debts, asshole,” you say aloud, blasting your jets to life. “You’ll only feel the cold for a second, because after that you’re going to burn in Hell!” As you fly toward the man, you see him flail helplessly. You bring your arm back for a killing stroke as he hovers near, then as you streak by you swing, hard, and smash his faceplate open. You swing around quickly and see the man spinning in space, then grab him and hold him still.

  His face is contorting horribly before you, red with massive blue veins, his eyes bulging, mouth working to draw in air that no longer exists. His face turns purple, a network of bruises blossom along his neck, forehead, cheeks, his tongue swells horribly - then his eyeballs explode and without pause you wipe the goo from your helm visor so that you can watch your murderer die the death of the weak.

  Amazing, you think. While your heart rages and floods you with panic, you ride the wave of nausea until it brings you to a place forbidden to all normal human beings: The feeling of a revenge sated fills you with dark satisfaction. Now the man who set me on my terrible journey is dead. Why he tried to kill me, I do not know and I may never know. But the human species has one less craven dog to worry about.

  You set your boots on the dead man’s chest, bend your knees, then kick him away as you fly back toward the battle. The corpse floats away, one more ghost damned to float forever in the vast nothingness.

  Make a note that you have killed John Christian, as this will affect the rest of your life.

  Turn to section 222.

  437

  You must now compute an abstract number that will determine the outcome of the battle. This number is your Ground Combat (or 1 G Combat) added to your Strength stat. If you have the Weapon Proficiency: Hand-to-Hand skill with a Mace, add 2 to this number.

  If this number is 6 or less, turn to section 204.

  If this number is 7 or more, turn to section 398.

  438

  While surveying the oxygen tanks, a strange prickling runs the length of your spine. You push off farther down the hall and crouch near the ceiling. In a few moments you see the bobbing light of a flashlight, then hear someone kicking around in the hall that leads back to the lounge. You wait, barely breathing. Then the a radio sputters suddenly and you hear the voice of the guard before it clicks off suddenly. The light shifts and the stalker bounds away. When you can no longer hear him, you return to the main hall.

  You reason that it was the manager - and something tells you that you have no reason to trust him.

  You gain 1 XP for the use of your skill. Turn to section 100.

  439

  Days stretch on and time becomes a torture rack for your body. You tell yourself that you are nearing the station, but your stomach refuses to wait in silence. During the last leg of your journey to the station, you must eat 2 Foods, or lose 1 Blood for each missed Food.

  Regeneration: If you die, you may return to section 179 to try again.

  If you survive, turn to section 124.

  440

  “Whatever,” says the laborer. “We don’t want no part in your world.” Horrified, you hear the gun blast and see the girl’s head jerk. Blood splatters onto the laborer’s chest and he drops the girl’s limp body. Before you can react, he puts the gun to his own head.

  “Stop!” you shout. “Don’t do it! You’re wasting bullets!” But it’s too late - the man fires, blowing his brains out like a rainbow that comes in only one color. His body falls in a twitching heap beside the woman he loved. You may take his Bloody Chrome-Plated 9mm (Handgun, bulk 2) and 3 Handgun bullets (bulk 1) if you wish.

  Turn to section 166.

  441

  You try to shake the feeling. Try to tough it out. You see Octegenarius dozing at the ship’s control panel. “Hey, old man,” you say, forcing a smile. His eyes open slowly, resenting your presence. He wants only to sleep. To be at peace. “You workin’ hard... or hardly... workin’...” The joke feels disingenuous.

  “Shit...” he says, slowly, as one who knows he is already dead, and that anything else is pointless.

  The unthinkable happens. Without warning, one window of the ship shatters, blows outward, you feel the breath sucked out of you and see boxes and gear fly free, you are suddenly cold, cold all over. You crash into a steel-wall and your eyeballs roll around loosely. A large box slams into the opening, sealing the vacuum off, but before you come to a rest on the ground you see the metal just in front of your face explode inward as something from the outside pierces it, then the vacuum sucks against the ship again. Chaos before you, someone’s limbs flailing, objects crashing against one another.

  As you toss about the freezing maelstrom in the ship, you lose 2 Blood, though you may subtract your Defense rating from this amount if you happen to be wearing any Armor.

  You manage to force your helm on just as ice crystals form in your tear ducts and greasy hair. You are overcome with a black, dark feeling that drowns out all humane concerns. Without thinking you haul yourself towards an exit. Two more holes are blasted into the side of the ship and you know that a sniper is attacking from a
hideout on one of the asteroids. As the vacuum churns within the Narrenschiff you clamber into a small depressurization chamber, lock the door behind you, then kick open the exit door. Darkness lies before you and you blast your jets on full throttle. All is silent but the kick of the jet behind you is a roar of freedom in your blood, a freedom from all ties as you leave behind the fantasy world of soft things and enter into the dance of death with which you have become familiar.

  A sniper in the service of the Invaders waits for you on one of the asteroids. Now, finally, you will face the true enemy. And one of you will die.

  (If you have died, then you may Regenerate by turning to section 312, or, if you want to go further back, section 179.)

  Turn to section 247.

  442

  You stare at a circular, open expanse of destruction. It looks as if some missile entered the station and went off here. You can see exposed sections of hallway with frantically blinking lights all around. Thousands of open water pipes leak into the floor far below. Many hallways to the far right are covered in quick-drying solution that protects against the vacuum. The hallway in which you stand comes to an abrupt end before you; you lean over and see pooled water, darkness, strange reflections. Twisted steel, concrete, and glass rise up from the floor like an architect’s nightmare.

  Just then you hear barking and splashing. Wild dogs run about the ruins in the water below. They glare at you, hungry for flesh. Some of them have pink-stained muzzles. All of these wild dogs are wearing collars. You wonder at the fact that these creatures, once tame and only a few hours free from their masters, have already reverted to savagery. None of these dogs are small or cute in any way; all were animals kept by roughneck laborers, and so the wild was probably always just under the surface.

  Orienting yourself with the intention of getting deeper into the station, you will have to make your way towards one of the hallways on your left. A section of floor juts out on the platform below you, and could provide some safe way to that area if you jumped down onto it. But there has to be another room or hallway beyond the wall to your left; though you can’t see it, you could possibly hang on to the ruined wall and swing yourself around into the next area.

  Whichever way you choose, you will have to keep away from the dogs. You should probably hurry, too, for they are eagerly trying to find some way to come to you.

  If you wish to jump down onto the lower hallway, turn to section 211.

  If you wish to swing around the wall to your left, turn to section 256.

  443

  You bring your boot down on one of the deconstructors, smashing its head into the floor. The monster shrieks its last. You feel a steel tentacle slam into your back, sending you airborne. You crash into the ground, jetpack bouncing awkwardly. As you rise the monster is already upon you, baring down with its terrible pincers. You kick upward, stunning the thing, then grab a loose tentacle in both hands.

  “Donkey Kong Junior ain’t got nothin’ on me!” you scream as you roll over in the hallway, pulling the thing with you. You hit the wall, hard, smashing the deconstructor between the wall and your jetpack. It quivers lamely. You rise awkwardly, then stomp the thing with your boot, crushing it until its eyes darken and it lies still.

  Overall, you lose 3 Blood from this encounter. If your Blood has dropped to zero or below, then the last thing you feel is dizziness before the dead station claims your life.

  If you have survived, turn to section 298.

  444

  Screams and gunfire echo through the tastefully decorated hallways of the station while a benign voice on the intercom announces, “PLEASE REMAIN CALM. THE STATION IS NOT BEING DESTROYED. YOU ARE NOT ALL GOING TO DIE. PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR WORK AREAS...” You limp down a hallway, leaning against a wall, fighting the unbearable weight of one-G entropy.

  You cross a wide intersection of hallways. Seemingly out of nowhere, a gang of men in Stellar green laborer coveralls charge into the area. They all wear red bandannas and several carry automatic weapons, and they have an insane glint in their eyes. “To the Revolution!” they scream, stinking of alcohol. “Revolution! Now!” As they cross nearby one of them glances at you, swings his weapon around, and fires. You stumble sideways and fall to the ground as bullets smack into the wall. Before you can even raise a weapon they are already gone.

  You hobble away from the area. Ahead, several women run screaming, crying, tripping and begging for their lives. After they pass, a half-naked man chases after them, knife held high, giggling wickedly. You rush ahead, mumbling, “See here, now!” but, before you can charge down the hall to save the day, three men in grey law enforcement uniforms and heavy riot gear run by. They stop when they see you, then level their shotguns.

  “Conservationalist or progressivite?!” one of them shouts.

  “I just... uh, I just need a ship,” you say, edging away from them.

  “Well how do you tend to vote, dirt-bag?” screams another, near panic himself.

  “I’m not into whatever’s going on here!” you shout, hands in the air. You backpedal near another hallway, then say, “Let me explain,” before you suddenly whirl and run down the hall. The cops do not pursue you.

  You run until your lungs give out, then lean against a wall. Some great explosion rumbles through the walls, steady, like the heartbeat of doom itself. Down a side hall you see one man with a heavy pipe standing over two bodies. He beats the bodies over and over, slipping in their blood. Tears stream down his face. “REMAIN CALM,” announces the voice on the intercom. “THE STATION IS DEFINITELY NOT BEING DESTROYED BY AN INVADER SHIP. THERE IS NO REASON TO PANIC OR GO CRAZY IN ANY WAY.”

  “Like hell,” you mutter, sneaking away from the scene.

  You continue down the hallway, hopefully toward a ship docking bay that hasn’t been destroyed. Not that you feel comfortable asking for directions. You come to a hallway with two doors on either side, one marked DOCTOR’S OFFICE, the other marked CAFETERIA. On the one hand, you are half-starved and will need food for you trip, and it would be nice to have some medical supplies to counteract your growing wound collection. On the other hand, behind both doors you hear crazy people locked in what seems to be shouting contests.

  There’s no telling what’s going on behind those doors, and since time is short you guess that you only have enough time to investigate one room.

  If you want to check out the cafeteria’s specials, turn to section 425.

  If you want to see if the doctor is in, turn to section 207.

  If you think the whole thing sounds insane, you can continue down the hall and avoid all this nonsense by turning to section 254.

  445

  You program your helm computer to keep you on your current course, then you swallow the sweet, sweet unconsciousness-producing drugs. “Now why didn’t I think of this before?” you mutter. “Goodbye, stars! And I hope you die!”

  You jerk awake. The stars have not changed, not at all. You check your helm computer... and find that you have slept for nearly a week!

  “Quite refreshing!” you say. “Now if only I could sleep through this entire epic journey. Then I would be... happy!”

  Erase the sweet, sweet pills from your inventory, then turn to section 556.

  446

  “You know what, John Christian,” you say, “I wouldn’t be what I am today if it weren’t for you. I’ve been through Hell, and Hell no longer has anything in it for me to fear.”

  The man’s face freezes in terror.

  “And that’s why I’m keeping your punk-ass alive,” you say, “so you can stay in this freezing nightmare with me.” With that, you manhandle him, blast your jets, and give him a violent push toward the ship.

  Asshole, you think. I hope some Invader bashes your brains out on the way there.

  To turn around and fly back toward the battle, turn to section 222.

  447

  “Alright, man,” you say, hands upraised. “Let’s just take a deep breath and chill out. Surely th
ings aren’t that bad.”

  “Aren’t that bad?!” shrieks the laborer. “We’re all gonna be dead soon, and all I wanna do is marry the woman of my dreams so I won’t die alone - and nobody’s helping me out here!”

  “I’ll help!” said the priest. “I’ll marry you two lovebirds, then carve you up real good an’ pretty!”

  “Finally!” shouts the laborer. “Somebody with some goddamn sense around here.”

  “Screw you!” shrieks the girl. “I’ll never marry you! Never!”

  “Chill! Now!” you bark out. “Look bud, I don’t think the girl wants to marry you. So why don’t you put the gun down and find something else to do with your last few minutes?”

  “Like what?” he says darkly, pressing the gun to the girl’s temple. You can tell that he is teetering over the edge. One wrong move and he will break.

  You say...

  (Striking a friendly pose,) “You can escape this place with me, as soon as we get a ship.” Turn to section 557.

  (Staring him down,) “I don’t give a shit what you do. Put the gun down or you’re going to die in agony.” Turn to section 330.

  448

  You jam down hard on the jetpack controls, swinging wildly and screaming so hard your lungs grind in your chest and a wad of phlegm plasters against your helm, thus shielding you from the terrifying sight of the chomping jaws of the beast. The tentacles at your legs tighten painfully as you wait for them to relax their grip for one instant so that you can take advantage and escape. Unfortunately, as their grip tightens and tightens, you realize that moment will never come. Just as the massive mouth surrounds your head, you flip the switch to MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE and tear yourself free from the monster’s grip. The cold, biting vacuum rushes into one of your legs, licking and freezing like a psychotic Old Man Winter: While you have escaped the monster, you have also torn your suit.